CFA (9/29) Writing Introductions

The people who stayed behind in both towers on September 11, 2001-or waited too long before trying to leave-bore no responsibility for what happened to them that morning. They were, instead, twice victimized-once by the men who hijacked the planes and took so many lives; and once by the impossibly complex interplay of luck, guesswork, psychology, architecture, and more that is at play in any such mass movement of people. Fear plays a role, so does bravado, so does desperation. But so do ergonomics,[1]fluid dynamics, engineering, even physics-all combining to determine which individuals get where they're going, which ones don't, and which survive the journey at all. Ultimately, we're misled by our most basic instincts-the belief that we know where the danger is and how best to respond to keep ourselves alive, when in fact we sometimes have no idea at all. It's the job of the people who think about such matters to tease all these things apart and put them back together in buildings and vehicles that keep their occupants alive. It's the job of those occupants to learn enough about the systems so that they have the sense to use them. (para. 1)

In his excerpt from Simplexity, Jeffrey Kluger explores how human behavior in emergency evacuations often defies logic, influenced not just by fear and instinct but also by design, crowd psychology, and complex systems like architecture and engineering. He argues that while technology and science can predict and improve evacuation procedures, human unpredictability always plays a role—sometimes dangerously so.

Prompt: To what extent should individuals be held responsible for their own safety in emergency evacuations, and to what extent should responsibility be with designers, architects, and emergency planners?

In a well-developed argumentative essay, take a clear position on this issue. Use evidence from Kluger’s text as well as your own reasoning and relevant examples (from real-world events, history, or personal experience) to support your argument. Be sure to:

• Clearly state your position in your thesis.
• Acknowledge and address counterarguments.
• Organize your essay logically with clear transitions.
• Use direct evidence from the text and paraphrasing where appropriate.
• Conclude with a reflection on the broader implications of your argument.